Affordable diagnostics is emerging as a major need for the 21st century to ensure personal diagnostics and point of care healthcare, which is critical for both the developing countries (from the standpoint of low cost) and developed countries (considering the overwhelmed medical infrastructure due to the large aging population). With the help of modern engineering technologies, measurements and biomarker detections, critical information can be extracted and the signature of chemical marker of the disease can be observed in single drop of human fluid (blood, interstitial fluid, urine, or saliva). Since the biological samples are normally limited and concentrations of molecules of interest or proteins in samples are mostly in pmol/L range, a highly sensitive, specific, and accurate detector is essential with minimized sample volume. Microfluidic sensors or broadly lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies have a tremendous but unproven potential to improve the health of people in developing countries. Ever since the modern inception of LOC and microfluidic technologies around 1990, use in remote settings has been perceived as potentially one of the most powerful applications of the technology by taking advantage of its small size, low volume requirement for samples, and rapid analysis. Indeed, portable LOC devices are now beginning to be used in remote settings, as a result of developments in integrating fluid actuation, sample pre-treatment, sample separation, signal amplification, and signal detection into a single device. As they stand, these devices are not yet appropriate for use in the extreme resource-poor settings of developing countries; nevertheless, these advances place the field of LOC research in a prime position to tackle the profound issue of global health, where the challenges in device designs are arguably the most demanding, and the need for new health technologies the greatest.    Yang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,751,048, for an Optofluidic Microscope Device, discloses a device having light transmissive regions and an optical detector that is used to image an object flowing through a fluid channel.    Ciu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,768,654, for an On-Chip Phase Microscope/Beam Profiler Based On Differential Interference Contrast And/Or Surface Plasmon Assisted Interference, discloses a DIC microscope and/or light field profiler based on Young's interference.    Yang et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,751,048, for an Optofluidic Microscope Device Featuring A Body Comprising A Fluid Channel And Having Light Transmissive Regions, discloses a device that includes a fluid channel having a surface and an object such as a bacterium or virus flowing through the fluid channel while light imaging elements in the bottom of the fluid channel are used to image the object.    Fletcher et al., PCT Publication Number WO2009/088930, for a High Numerical Aperture Telemicroscopy Apparatus, discloses an imaging system consisting of a cell-phone with a camera that is used for disease diagnosis, symptom analysis and post-procedure monitoring.    Raskar et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,792,423, for a 4D Light Field Camera, discloses a camera that acquires a 4D light field of a scene by modulating the 4D light field before it is sensed.
Within the context of optofluidics there is a need for looking at specimens in a new way.
Also within the context of optofluidics, there is a need for better resolution of the image.
Also within the context of optofluidics, there is a need for low cost, label free bio-detection since most bio-detection platforms use biomarkers that have a limited shelve life and are expensive.
Also within the context of optofluidics, there is a need for increased sensitivity to allow for fewer false negative results.
Also within the context of optofluidics, there is a need for specificity to allow for fewer false positives.